1h 21m
‘Foreign Parts’ portrays a hidden enclave of automobile shops and junk-yards fated for demolition in the shadow of a new baseball stadium in Queens. The film observes this vibrant community of immigrants – where wrecks, refuse, and recycling form a thriving commerce – as it struggles for daily survival and contests New York City’s development scheme.
Directors Verena Paravel & J.P. Sniadecki
When a policeman falls in love with a prostitute, he doesn’t want her to see other men, so he creates an alter-ego who will be her only customer.
Based on French journalist Florence Aubenas’s bestselling non-fiction work Le Quai de Ouistreham, investigating rising precarity in French society through her experiences in the northern port city of Caen.
‘Between Two Worlds’ Review: Juliette Binoche Goes Undercover
An overworked and underpaid production assistant drives around Bucharest to shoot the casting for a workplace safety video commissioned by a multinational company.
Singing for Justice tells the story of Faith Petric, a political radical, community organizer and charismatic performer who united folk music and progressive causes from the 1930s through the early 2000s. Narrated largely by Faith herself, the film weaves her musical and political journeys to showcase the central role of folk music in the transformational social movements of the 20th century.
Co-director: Estelle Freedman
ebf@stanford.edu
info@singingforjustice.com
Mike (Mark Wahlberg), a construction worker from Jersey, is quickly thrust into the world of super spies and secret agents when his high school sweetheart, Roxanne (Halle Berry), suddenly comes back into his life and recruits him on a high-stakes U.S. intelligence mission. Watch on Netflix.
Netflix hit “The Union” is a miss
Reviewed by Chris Garlock (Labor Heritage Foundation newsletter)
The Union is a hit on Netflix, but it’s not really about the labor movement, and it’s a pretty lousy movie, despite starring Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry. Wahlberg plays Mike, a construction worker in New Jersey, who finds himself thrust into the world of super spies when his high school sweetheart, Roxanne (played by Berry), enlists his help on a high-stakes US intelligence mission for a shadowy group of ex-agency operatives called The Union. It’s a telling sign that a film called The Union doesn’t bother to say whether Mike’s construction job is union or not. J.K. Simmons runs the team and does have a cool class-conscious rationale for its existence: “(We’re the) invisible army that keeps the world running. The people who do the actual work. Street smarts over book smarts. Blue collar, not blue blood. Able to build our cities, keep production lines humming. That’s who we are. We get shit done.” Unfortunately that’s about the only nod to labor in the film, which has been getting abysmal viewer reviews, the best of which call it “generic” and “cheesy”. Action fans will be disappointed by the rote gunplay, endless — and pointless — car chases and lame dialogue from movie stars who — like us — deserve better. And the big plot twist involving a traitor in The Union is not only completely unbelievable, but misses an obvious opportunity to take a shot at scabs. Hate to say it, but this is one union you won’t want to join.
Got an opinion you’d like to share about labor art you’ve seen or heard lately? Email us at info@laborheritage.org.
by Olga Torrico, Italy, 2020, 10 min
Alice works at a gas station. She no longer plays and has sunk within herself the fire that burned within her for the music. When her old music teacher shows up on a hot summer day, Alice begins to wonder if she’s been without her gasoline for too long.
by Mattia Epifani, Italy, 2020, 15 min Father Athanasius is a young Orthodox monk who lives in a monastery perched in the mountains of Greece but cultivates an unspeakable passion for luxury and high fashion
by Paola Piscitelli, Fabio Corbellini, Italy, 2020, 14 min One of the hidden faces of our cities: the incessant work of the messengers who deal, in precarious conditions, with home deliveries for large platforms
by Antonio Maciocco, Italy, 2020, 15 min
56 years in 10 square meters. This is the time that Mr. Gavino spent in his barber’s salon, a small shop in the historic center of Sassari. 56 years in 10 square meters could be like a life sentence. Instead, it is about time and the measure of a happy life
THE LABOR FILM DATABASE 